Projects Mild custom '51 Pontiac Chieftain

Clear coat 1.

 

Clear coat #2

Getting there, slowly.

Phil

 

Nice selfie!

 

You saw that? Ha. Had to show it is getting a bit of gloss somehow.

 

Had to go back to clear coat #1 to be sure I hadn’t missed it there. Really enjoying the ride here on your build. I’d was surprised to hear you’re considering selling it when you finish it as it seems such a labor of love.

 

Ah, a slight misunderstanding.

She said I should sell it once it's done.

I nodded. Yes* honey.

Phil

*No

 

Good answer! Your quality is second to none here. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your progress.

 

It's just tiny little bits at a time right now.

There's not a lot on the to-do list now, but it all has a dollar amount. What I'm doing right now is taking more time than money and stuff that I have already in the garage. Y'all know how that goes. I apologise it's not a high octane, exciting roller-coaster of different stuff right now like the condensed timeline at the beginning of the thread.

Phil

 

That’s ok with me. I’m still along for the ride.

 

Still a good thread to follow along.

 

It's all the small things you show that makes your thread stand out.

 

Phil, no apology needed, your attention to detail is why I subscribed to your thread and the fact that the Pontiac is a little different than the usual Chevys and Fords. Keep up the good work. I'm surprised that your wife would mention selling it, I thought she liked it. Stay Safe.

 

I like it because it's just that little bit different, too. She doesn't mind it, in honesty (else she'd have put her foot down when I asked to buy it) but her heart lays with mid sixties to early seventies cars, which is why she said.

 

000 wire wool


Cut


Polished


And finally bolted in. It's a five-footer for sure but that really cheered the rear lights up.

Phil

 

Looks great to me. Weren't the original taillight lenses glass?

 

49-50, 51 on were plastic. (From memory. At least, these ones were plastic from the factory)

 

Yeah but then you'd have to repaint over the garage mural!
I admire your attention to detail and patience.

 

Well, that'd all be part of the fun. Change it up, shake it up occasionally.

 

Heck i admire everything about this thread......and the car.
Keep em come'n Phil . I can almostbhear that sweet, smooth straight 8 talk'n.........

 

You could sell the car and house as a package deal

 

Phil, then you must also get a 1960-64 vehicle! For domestic harmony's sake.

 

Oh, and don't think it would be all bad.

My wife just pointed at the TV and said that the '47 Cadillac custom was real nice and I could have one just like that.

There you go. Ain't all bad.

Is that gonna happen any time soon? No. But, you know that it's on the approved list...

Phil

 

Nice

 

I seen that too.... the tires on that car cost more than i usually have in a complete car!!!!

 

True that. I have lost track of what I've put into this so far. Probably best, in a personal vehicle. I think I'm right at the point of balance, where what I've put into the car monetarily is what it's about worth. That's not a bad place to be, though.

Phil

 

Yup, that works.

Started the motor for the first time in a while and there's a clekclekclekclekclek that wasn't there before. I hunted about and find the oil filler tube was just at the wrong angle and was contacting the crank. Wiggled that back again and all is better. Ugh. Silly things.

Phil

 

Last glass tail lenses in a Pontiac are the '41-'47. Just about everything GM got plastic in '48.

 

I was close!

Edit: PMMA was something of a miracle material back then though. It didn't smash like Bakelite, you could make it transparent or add dyes or surface coverings to make it pretty colors and it hadn't really been in public circulation long enough to see how it aged. Considering how the stuff has been in direct sunlight for years it did really very well.

 

Bluetooth board arrived today.



Original tube radio with original AM, just with the hidden option to be able to remotely connect Bluetooth to it. I think that's about as honest as you can get when it comes to redoing old radio sets and wanting to have an upgrade of sorts available.
This was just a quick test, hence the flying leads. I have a new line capacitor coming, this one's toast, hence the BEEEEEEEE from the speaker when it's quiet).

Phil

 

Almost 3 weeks with no updates? I might go into Chieftain withdrawal.